Wheel type trenching machine



July 8, 1.958 l J. F. LINDELI. ET Ax. 2,841,895

WHEEL. IYPE TRENCHING MACHINE Y Filed March 11, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l I25 Z31- 2 -Q E 34 2 l Z4' 5' ,i n 4f f n "l E JNVENTORS 36 MQW ,l if@ BY,uw .w u W44 Q 44j I Ar'rok/vfx July 8, 1958 J. F. LINDELL ET Ax.

WHEEL TYPE TRENCHING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 1l, WSF

United States Patent O z,s4r,s9s WHEEL TYPE TRENCHnvG MACHINE John F.Lindell and Raymond L. Kennedy, Newton, Iowa, assignors, by mesneassignments, to Koehring Company, Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of `Wisconsul Application March 11, 1955, Serial No. 493,692

7 Claims. '(Cl. 37-97) y This invention relates yin general toimprovements in the `art of producing trenches or the like, and relatesmore specifically to improvements in the construction and `operation ofvehicle transported mechanisms'for excavating trenches of various lengthandV depths.

"Some of the more important specific objects of the invention are asfoilows:

To provide an improved trenching machine of the type wherein an annularseries of revolving excavating buckets are carried by a cantilever framemovably suspended from an opstanding mast assembly swingably mountedupon a transporting vehicle, and in which independent hydraulic hoistsoperable from a common station 'are provided to move the frame along themast struct-ure and to swing the latter `in order to rai-se the frameand buckets above the ground.

To provide improved adjusting mechanism for effecting variationin thedepth of the lcut being produced by a power driven trenching machineembodying an annular rigid wheel provided with peripheral excavatingbuckets, and which is adjustably suspended by a cantilever frameswingably mounted from a carriagernovable along upright guides.

To provide improved means for suspending the canti-` lever supportingframe for a trenching machine excavating` wheel, `with the aid offlexible cables or the like connecting the swinging end of thecantilever with `a rigid carriage, Vand in which the cables are providedwith devices for constantly eliminating .slack therein.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparentfrom the following detailed descri'ption.

A clear conception of the features constituting the present improvement,and of the construction and operation of a typical trenching machineembodying the invention, may be had by referring to the drawingsaccompanying and forming a part of this specification wherein likereference characters designate the same or similar parts in the variousviews. j

Fig. l is a perspective View of a commercial trenching unit built inaccordance with the present invention;

IFig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary side view of the hydraulic ram andmast assemblages of the excavating unit shown in Fig. l;

Fig. 3' is a similarly enlarged Iand fragmentary rear view or thehydraulic ram and mast assembly for supporting the excavating wheel andfor varying the depth of excavation;

tFig. 4 is a side View of the trenching machine showing the excavatingwheel in laction, and also depicting some of the driving mechanism andthe location of the wheel suspension mast andframe in roading positionin dot-and-dash lines;

Fig. 5` is a greatly enlarged top view of the mast and hydraulic ramassemblage for adjusting the depth of excavation and for equalizng thewheelside thrust;

Eig. 6iis a somewhat enlarged and part sectional elevation of the lowerwheel guiding roller assembly showing its position relative to the ringgears for driving the wheel, the pitch line of these gears being shownin dot-r trenching unit shown therein, comprises in general' a' motorpropelled vehicle having a chassis 10V; a rigid Wheel located near oneend` of the chassis. 10 andconsisting' primarily of a pair of laterallyspaced coaxial ring gears 11 interconnected by an annular series ofperipheral buckets 12; an elongated upstanding mast assembly hav-- ing apair of laterally spaced parallel guide masts 13 pivot-ally connected attheir lower ends to` the adjacent end of the chassis 10, and beingtirmly united near their upper ends by a cross-beam 14;a carriage .15spanning and being reciprocable along the masts 13; a cantilever frame,16 extending away from the carriage 15 on opposite sides. of theexcavating wheel and having one* endpivotally attached` to the lowerextremity of the carriage while its oppositel overhangi-ng end is.connected` to the upper portion of miscarriage by flexible cables 17lower and rear guiding rollers 18, 19 respectively, journalled upon. theframe 16 and coacting with internal annular surfaceslzt) formed on thering gears 11; a material unloadt ing conveyor assemblage 21 mountedupon the frame 16 and extending transversely through the upper portionof the excavating rotor; material ejector 22 pivotally suspended fromthe frame 16 `and coacting with. the successive buckets. 12; coaxialpinions 23 also journalled on the cantilever frame 16 and coacting withthe teethA of the ring gears 11; a `hydraulic hoist or ram having acylinder 24 pivotally mounted uponV the mast assembly while itsreciprocable plunger 25 is operatively connectedv to the carriage 15 toraise and lower the latter;` a double-` acting hydraulic hoist or ramhaving a cylinder 26 pivotally mounted upon the chassis 10 while itsmovable plunger 27 is directly connected to the cross-beam 14 of themast assembly; and motion transmitting mechanism 2S drivingly connectingtheconveyor assemblage 21 and the pinions 23 with the propelling motor31 of the vehicle.

The chassis 10 of the vehicle which normally :trans-V ports thetranching mechanism, may be mounted at its medial portion upon a pair ofendless crawler tracks 30 adapted to be driven by motor 31 such as aninternal combustion` engine preferably supported upon the overhangingfront end of the vehicle remote from the exi cavating wheel support, sothat the relatively heavy motor 31- will tend to counterbalance theweight of the` trenchingstructure, see Figs. 1 and 4. This vehiclepropelling motor 31 is alsoadapted to actuate an hydraulic pump 32carried by the chassis 10, for delivering liquid under pressure to andreleasing spent liquid from the ram cylinders 24, 26; and the, motor 31isfurthermore capable of being drivingly connected with the propellingtracksV 30and with the trenching wheel drive 28 with the aid of clutchesand transmission control levers 33. The forward end of the hydraulic ramcylinder 26 is swingably mounted upon an A-frame or bracket 34\supportedupon the vehicle chassis 10, by means of a pivot 35, and the lowerportion of the mast assembly is likewisei swingably` mounted at one endof. this chassis by meansy ofother pivots 36, while the delivery ofliquid to and from the Fatented Jul-y 8, 1958 3 two ram cylinders 24, 26is controllable by other levers 37, which, together with the levers 33are located within easy reach of a single operator disposed upon a seat38 also mounted upon the vehicle, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4. The rigidtrenching wheel or rotor has its driving ring gears 11 lirmly attachedtoannular side plates 40 and the inwardly open buckets 12 are rigidlysecured to these side plates to provide an annular bucket wheel ofdurable construction the interior of which is unobstructed. Theupstanding masts 13 are formed of sturdy I-beams as illustrated in Figs.2, 3, 4 and 5, and the supporting pivots 36 of the mast assembly coactwith ears 41 secured to the fronts of these beams, while the rotorcarriage 15 is composed of spaced members simultaneously slidable alongthe rear flanges of the I-beams and have the forward end of thecantilever frame 16 swingably attached thereto by pivots 42. Theparallel upstanding masts 13 besides being firmly united by the uppercross-beam 14 to which the ram plunger 27 is attached by a pivot 43,have their lower ends rmly united by another crossbeam 44, upon whichthe ram cylinder 24 is supported by a pivot 45, while the mid-portionsof the masts are likewise rigidly interconnected by a transverse tubularelement 46. A horizontal slide 47 spans the gap between the parallelmasts 13 and has its opposite ends'provided with shoes 48 which areslidable along these masts, and the lower midportion of this slide 47 isconnected to the ram plunger by a pivot 49, see Figs. 2 and 3.

Mounted upon the top of the channel bar slide 47, is a shaft 51supported in bearings 52, and a pair of sprockets 53 which are rigidlyinterconnected by a sleeve 54 are journalled for rotation about theshaft 51. A pair of chains 55 coact with the sprockets 53 and the end ofone of these chains is connected to the transverse tubular element 46 ofthe mast assembly by means of an adjustable eye-bolt 56, while theopposite end of this same chain is likewise adjustably attached to thecantilever frame 16 by another eye-bolt 57, as illustrated in Figs. 2and 3. The opposite ends of the other chain 55 may be perma nentlypivotally attached to the element 46 and frame 16 respectively. but theeve-bolts 56, 57 permit equalization of the initial tension in the twochains 55. The mounting of the sprockets 53 upon the slide 47 which ismovable by the ram plunger 25 to raise or lower the wheel supportingframe 16 and its carriage 15 along the masts 13, causes the excavatingrotor to be moved substantially twice the distance that is travelled byplunger 25, and the rigid inter-connection of the sprockets 53 by theintervening sleeve 54 equalizes the lateral or side pressures actingupon the bucket wheel during normal trenching.

The cantilever frame 16 which carries the trenching rotor consistsprimarily of a pair of elongated sturdy structural beams 59 swingablysuspended from the pivots 42 mounted upon the carriage 15, and two pairsof downwardly converging struts 60, 61 carried by the beams 59. Theupper ends of the shorter depending struts 60 are swingably attached tothe beams 59 by pivots 62, while the upper extremities of the longerstruts 61 are adjustably secured to these beams 59 by means of clampingnuts coacting with adjusting bolts 63, and the lower ends of the struts60, 61 are united by a transverse tube 64 secured to side plates 65, seeFigs. l, 4 and 6. The medial portions of the rear struts 61 carry a stopbracket 66 for the bucket cleaner or ejector 22, and the transverseconnecting tube 64 has internal anti-friction bearings 67 in which ashaft 68 having the lower guiding rollers 18 firmly secured to itsopposite ends, is journalled. The upper guiding rollers 19 arejournalled for rotation in bearings 69 supported directly upon the framebeams 59 near the adjusting bolts 63, and each of the rollers 18, 19coacts with the annular surface 20 of the adjacent ring gear 11 and isprovided with an annular end flangeV 70 coactingV with the inner sidesurface of the adjacent ring 21 gear 11 close to the pitch line 71 ofthe teeth of these gears 11, as illustrated in Fig. 6.

The material unloading conveyor assemblage 21 which is also mounted uponthe cantilever frame 16 is of relatively well known construction andcomprises primarily an endless belt 72 coacting with a series of rollers73 and extending through the upper interior of the annular bucket wheeland laterallytherebeyond, see'Figs. l and 4. This conveyor belt 72 isadapted to be constantly advanced by the motion transmitting mechanism28 while the trenching unit is operating, and this mechanism is normallydiven by the`motor 31 and also drives the trenching rotor through thepinions 23 and ring gears 11 when the machine is functioning to dig atrench. As previously indicated the successive revolving buckets 12 areinwardly open and they are also open at their forward or leading endswhile the opposite end of each bucket may be provided with a series ofinwardly and rearwardly inclined bars 74, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and4. Although most of the material removed during trenching operation,falls by gravity through the lower open sides of the uppermost buckets12 of the series, onto the conveyor belt 72 and is delivered therebylaterally of the path of advancement of the machine, some sticky orcompacted earth and rocks or other abnormal substances tend to becomelodged of these levers are connected to the rear extremities ofthesteadying cables 17 vthe front ends of which are adjustably secured tothe upper portion of the carriage 15 by screw ttings 96, see Fig. 4. Therear extremities of the levers 94 are connected by helical springs 97with -lower portions of the plates 93 so that after the cables have beeninitially properly tensioned with the aid of the fittings 96, thesprings will swing the levers 94 about their pivot pins 95 and willthereby maintain the cables 17 relatively taut by eliminating excessivesag therein whenever the frame 16 is swung upwandly about its pivots 42because of engagement with the bottom of the trench or otherobstruction. The rear extremity of the rotor suspension frame 16 mayalso be provided with a crumber 98 as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, and whichinsures formation of a clean trench bottom and side portions as the unitadvances.

When the various parts of the improved trenching machine have beenproperly constructed, assembled and adjusted as hereinabove described,the unit may be utilized to rapidly dig trenches 100, such as shown inFig. 4, of any desired length and depth and can be controlled by asingle operator stationed on the machine. The trenching speed may bereadily varied by controlling the rate of travel of the propellingvehicle, and the depth of the cut may be altered by actuating thehydraulic ram mounted upon the mast assemblage so as to raise or lowerthe carriage 15, the cantilever frame 16 and the bucket wheel while themasts 13 are in approximately upright position. During such trenchingoperation,l the bucket wheel may be operated at any desired speed by anysuitable transmission means in response to control levers 33 to causethe successive buckets 12 to revolve in a counter-clockwise direction asViewed in Fig. 4, and to remove and carry the earth and to eventuallydeposit their loads upon the conveyor 21 which delivers the removedmaterial onto the ground along one side of the trench 100.

If it becomes desirable to withdraw the bucket wheel and to transportthe machine to another locality, the

hydraulic ram carried by the mast assemblyv should rst be actuated toelevate the carriage as far as possible along the masts 13, and tothereafter actuate the other ram carried by the A-frame 34 so as toswing the mast assembly forwardly as illustrated in dot-and-dash linesin Fig. 4 and in solid lines in Fig. 1. The bucket wheel will `then beraised clear of the ground surface and the unit may be advanced withoutobstruction, and the two rams may be readily operated to swing the wheelsuspension masts 13 in either direction about the pivots 36 and to raiseor lower the bucket wheel relative to these masts, with the aid of thecontrol levers 37 mounted upon the tractor within easy reachof theoperator while stationed on the seat 38. Reverse operation of thesedouble acting rams after the bucket wheel has been raised, willobviously cause the various elements to be returned to active trenchingposition.

The provision of the two powerful hydraulic rams cooperating with atiltable mast assemblage having a cantilever frame 16 supporting aseries of trenching buckets 12 and which is swingably suspended from acarriage 15 adjustable along the masts 13, makes it possible toaccurately form trenches 100 of the desired depth and rapidly remove thetrenching elements for roading purposes. The use of the llexible cables28 electively supports the free end of the cantilever frame 16 while thelever 94 and the springs 97 positively prevent undesirable sagging ofthese cables whenever the frame 16 is being swung upwardly. The rigidinterconnection of the sprockets 53 which are movable by the ram plungerand coact with the chains 55, by means of a sturdy sleeve 54, serves toeffectively absorb and to equalize side thrust acting upon the lowerbuckets 12 of the rigid rotor; and the coaction of the guide wheelilanges 70 with the inner side surfaces of the ring gears 11 in closeproximity to the pitch line 71 of the ring gear teeth provide a mosteffective anti-friction mounting for the bucket wheel.

From the foregoing detailed description it should be apparent that thepresent invention in fact provides various improvements in theconstruction and functioning of power driven trenching machines, wherebya compact and sturdy unit of maximum capacity and which is ilexible inits adaptations results. The improved trencher is safely operable withminimum power consumption to produce trenches 160 at diverse speeds andof any desired depth in soil of diterent kinds, and requires theservices of a single operator to transport the unit from place to placeand to control the various trenching operations. The improved mechanismhas proven highly satisfactory and successful in actual use and may beprovided with replaceable buckets 12 of various types for producingtrenches 100 of different widths.

It should be understood that it is not desired to limit this inventionto the exact details of construction and operation of the trenchingmachine herein specifically shown and described, for variousmodifications within the scope of the appended claims may occur topersons skilled in the art. t

We claim:

l. In a trenching machine, a vehicle, a rotary excavating wheel locatednear an end of said vehicle, an elongated mast assembly swingablyassociated with the adjacent vehicle end, a carriage movable along saidmast assembly, a cantilever supporting frame for said wheel swingablyattached to said carriage, a hydraulic power unit for moving saidcarriage along said mast assembly, and another hydraulic power unit forswinging said mast assembly forwardly and rearwardly to eect furthermovements of said carriage and its excavating wheel.

2. In a trenching machine, a vehicle, a rigid rotary excavating wheellocated near an end of said vehicle, an elongated upstanding mastassembly pivotally mounted upon the adjacent vehicle end, a carriagereciprocable along said mast assembly, a cantilever frame pivotally "6suspended from said carriage and rotatably supportingsaid wheel, ahydraulic hoist mounted on said mast as` sembly for reciprocating saidcarriage to adjust the position of said excavator wheel, and anotherhydraulic hoist interposed between said vehicle andsaid mast assemblyforswinging said mast assembly forwardly and rear-l wardly to effectadditional adjusting movements of said excavator wheel.

3. In a trenching machine, a vehicle, a rigid rotary excavating wheellocated near an end of said vehicle, a mast assembly mounted on saidvehicle, an elongated carriage movable along said mast assembly, acantilever frame for supporting said wheel pivotallysuspended near oneend portion of said carriage, tension means for con-n necting theswinging end of said frame with said carriage remote from the pivotalframe suspension, said means comprising a lever member mounted upon saidframe and a flexible member' connectively interposed between said levermember and said carriage, and resilient means operatively interposedbetween said lever member and said frame for biasing said lever memberto maintain said ilexible member taut during swinging of said wheel andframe relative to said carriage.

4. In a trenching machine, a vehicle, a rigid rotary excavating wheellocated near an end of said vehicle, an elongated upstanding mastassembly mounted on said vehicle, an elongated carriage movable alongsaid mast assembly, a cantilever frame rotatably supporting said wheel,a pivot swingably connecting said frame with the lower end portion ofsaid carriage, a llexible cable connector for connecting the swingingend of said frame with the upper end portion of said carriage remotefrom said pivot, said connection including an interconnected cableportion and rigid link portion, said link portion being mounted uponsaid frame in fulcrumed relationship thereto, and a tension springoperatively interposed between said link portion and said frame andcoacting therewith and with said cable to maintain the latter taut atall times during swinging of said wheel and frame relative to saidcarriage about said pivot.

5. In a trenching machine, a vehicle having a chassis, a rigid bucketwheel located rearwardly of said vehicle, a pair of laterally spacedupwardly directed parallel I-beam masts having their lower end portionspivotally attached to the rear of said vehicle chassis and being rmlyunited by lower and intermediate cross-beams, a slide movable along saidmasts and having thereon a pair of rigidly interconnected laterallyseparated rotary sprockets, a carriage slidable along said masts andhaving a suspension frame for said .bucket wheel pivotally attachedthereto, a chain coacting at its medial portion with each of saidsprockets and each having one end secured to said intermediatecross-beam while its opposite end is attached to said frame, and a powerram interposed between said lower crossbeam and said slide.

6. In a trenching machine, a vehicle having a chassis, a rigid bucketwheel located rearwardly of said vehicle, a pair of laterally spacedupwardly directed parallel I-beam masts having their lower end portionspivotally attached to the rear of said vehicle chassis and being firmlyunited by upper and lower and intermediate crossbeams, a slide movablealong said masts and having thereon a pair of rigidly interconnectedlaterally separated rotary sprockets, a carriage slidable along saidmasts and having a suspension frame for said bucket wheel pivotallyattached thereto, a chain coacting at its medial portion with each ofsaid sprockets and each having one end secured to said intermediatecross-beam while its opposite end is attached to said trame, a power raminterposed between said lower cross-bearn and said slide, and anotherpower ram interposed between said upper cross-beam and said vehiclechassis.

7. In a trenching machine, a vehicle having a chassis, a rigid bucketwheel located rearwardly of said vehicle, a pair of laterally spacedupwardly directed parallel I-beam masts having their lower end portionspivotally attached to Ythe rear of said vehicle chassis and being rmlyunited by lower and intermediate cross-beams, a slide movable along saidmasts and having thereon a pair of rigidly interconnected laterallyseparated rotary sprockets, a carriage slidable along said masts andhaving a cantilever suspension frame for said bucket Wheel pivotallyattached to its lower end, ilexible cables connecting the upper end ofsaid carriage with the swinging end of said cantilever frame, means forconstantly maintaining said cables taut, chains coacting with saidsprockets and having their opposite ends connected to said intermediatecross-beam and to said carriage respectively, and a power ram lcarriedby said lower cross-beam and coacting with said beam and with said'slide to move theV latter along rsaid masts.v

References Cited'in the file of this patentV f y V UNITED STATES PATENTS939,731A Miller Nov. 9, 1909 2,265,852v MCBean Dec. 9, 1941 2,280,004Penote et al. Apr. 14, 1942 2,321,352 Askue June 8,V 1943 '2,329,659Smith Sept. 14, 1943 2,451,315 Bennett Oct. 12, 1948 2,711,035 PittsJune 21, 1955 2,730,821 Fetzner Jan. 17, 1956

